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Fun at Foster's blog

When I was growing up the movie distribution situation was such that once a film had played its first run in the downtown and neighborhood theaters it was pretty much gone forever. There were a few re-issues of certified classics but generally the avid (i.e., obsessed) fan was left hanging with only memories of his vanished film favorite (today I still can hardly believe it when I see a VHS copy of FANTASIA for 50 cents in the Foster book store!).

That’s one reason I am constantly amazed at the accessibility of movies today. So sometimes I find it interesting just to choose films about which I know absolutely nothing.

Here are a few DVD surprises I’ve come across recently.

Wreckers (2011): Benedict Cumberbatch is so all over the place these days (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness, August: Osage County, 12 Years A Slave) it’s surprising to find him in a small indie film from an emerging British director/writer. This somewhat enigmatic film deals with a young married couple starting out in a country cottage in rural England. Their bucolic idyll is interrupted by the return of the repressed, in this case the husband’s disturbed brother, and complications, of course, ensue.

In her first feature, director/writer Dictynna Hood infuses the slight plot with visually beautiful images of the English (Norfolk) countryside, and in that respect and in the emotionally-intense, conflicted relationships the film reminded me of a modernized Thomas Hardy. A lyrical score adds to the mysterious impact, as do the rural accents and a very muffled sound mix which makes the dialogue sometimes incomprehensible. And be warned, there are no subtitles.

Mako Mermaids (2013): This was a real wild card, an Australian young adult series about mermaids interacting with a “land guy” who has accidentally acquired merpeople powers and occasionally turns into a merman himself. How the trio of mermaids, each a distinctive personality, deal with the situation on land keeps the plot interesting and amusing.

An attractive cast and rather good special effects and underwater location (Gold Coast, Queensland) cinematography create a colorful fusion of reality and fantasy. A cool techno/pop score, sometimes suggestive of the tiki exotica of Les Baxter—and in stereo—and a few tween-friendly pop tunes (one of the mermaids sings) add to the bubbly appeal. BTW, Mermaids is a spin-off of another show, H20: Just Add Water.

Ice Soldiers (2013): A kind of retread of the 1950s classic The Thing, but in this case the trio of hunky blond “things” are not aliens but genetically-enhanced Russian soldiers bent on invading Cold War America. After they trash a remote arctic outpost and escape we skip ahead several decades and they’rrree back, with predictable results.

It’s a low-key but fairly engrossing thriller with some striking wide-screen cinematography of the frozen landscapes (shot in Ontario, Canada). As one review put it, “Don’t take it too seriously and you will enjoy being entertained by Ice Soldiers.”

E.P. Foster Library is closed today, 10/3, due to extreme heat.Avenue Library will be open to the public from 11-5 to serve the Ventura community. Please call the library at 643-6393 if you have any questions.

Dune has been hailed as the “first planetary ecology novel on a grand scale.” It is a tale of political corruption, the fight for limited resources, and the fight for territory—but on an interstellar level. In a universe where powerful families rule entire planets, young Paul Atreides is made a duke too soon after the assassination of his father, and now must keep control of the planet Arrakis. It is a hostile planet, a desert filled with deadly sandworms where water is a precious resource to be guarded and fought over. It is also the only planet where one can find a powerful drug called Spice. Spice gives people increased power over their own bodies and minds, and is itself the catalyst for interstellar travel. In order to hold Arrakis, Paul must gain the loyalty of the native Freman people, tribesman that have learned the desert’s ways, adapting their bodies while searching for a way to bring plants and water to life around them. The Freman find their messiah in Paul, sparking a jihad against those who would try to take Arrakis. Paul is caught in a spiral of religious fervor he can’t control, and comes up against some of the most fearsome fighters the universe has ever seen.

I’ve read Dune many times over the years and am always struck by the fact that even though Herbert wrote it in 1965, it doesn’t feel dated at all. Deep down it is really about many people coming together to solve planetary problems in ways that benefit them all, as well as the need to cease their fighting over territory and resources as it benefits no one in the long run. It is a thinly-veiled argument against an addiction to one resource and the thought that having that resource makes you powerful. In a time of serious drought and war around the world, it makes you stop and think. This is what makes the sci-fi and fantasy genres so memorable and amazing to me: how writers take us to fantastical places but still manage to ground us in situations we can relate to.

Dune is part of E.P. Foster Library’s Science Fiction collection, and can also be found in our catalog.

While the world of fiction is full of intricate stories that showcase the human spirit and the lengths to which we will go in pursuit of greatness, some of the most impressive tales are ones that actually did happen. Good non-fiction authors can help us realize that history is full of accounts of courage, resourcefulness, survival, and determination that rival—or even serve as inspiration for—our greatest works of fiction. This month Novelties will feature its first non-fiction titles, and we will hit the ground running by looking at a topic that lends itself to some amazing stories of discovery and sacrifice: 19th-century Arctic exploration.

Hampton Sides’ newest release In the Kingdom of Ice (2014) is an account of the voyage of the USS Jeannette, which in 1879 carried George Washington DeLong—a naval officer and explorer—and his crew on an expedition to the North Pole. Sides recounts how DeLong’s efforts were funded by the owner of the New York Herald, James Gordon Bennett, a man hungry to make headlines with such a sensational achievement. At the time, knowledge of the North Pole was limited, and a successful expedition would shed light on one of the few remaining dark places on the globe. Unfortunately, DeLong’s Jeannette became trapped in ice, ultimately succumbing to the elements and forcing the crew to abandon ship. What followed was a struggle to reach safety in the frozen north, with no shortage of threats as immediate as polar bears and freezing temperatures and as insidious as starvation and madness. While it would be years before the public knew for sure what happened to DeLong and his crew, his journal provides insights which Sides incorporates into his own compelling narrative, bringing to life a story that might easily have been lost forever.

Shifting subjects a bit, we have In the Heart of the Sea (2000) by Nathaniel Philbrick. Still set on the open ocean, this title tells the story of the Essex, a whaling ship that set out from Nantucket in 1820. It would be fifteen months before the remaining members of her crew were discovered and the truth of what happened was revealed. The Essex suffered serious damage while being attacked by an aggressive sperm whale, forcing the crew onto lifeboats where they drifted desperately towards the coast of South America—some 3,000 miles away. Philbrick incorporates primary sources and personal experience with the sea into a bleak but oddly lyrical narrative in which he explores the physical and psychological trauma of the survivors, who were forced to cannibalize their shipmates as their ordeal dragged on over several months. During the 19th century the wreck of the Essex loomed heavily in the public consciousness, and served as inspiration for Melville as he wrote Moby-Dick. Extensively researched and full of exquisite detail, In the Heart of the Sea is a great pick for anyone looking for a gateway into non-fiction, and is currently being made into a film directed by Ron Howard, to be released in 2015.

Finally, we return to the Arctic with The Ice Master (2000) by Jennifer Niven. In this book, Niven recounts the details of a 1913 Canadian expedition led by anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who abandoned his crew when their ship, the Karluk, became stuck in ice. Those left behind were short on experience and wound up relying heavily on their captain, Robert Bartlett, who led them from the Karluk’s wreck and subsequently traveled roughly 700 miles—mostly on foot—in an attempt to reach civilization and arrange a rescue. Those who stayed behind, some seriously injured, had no choice but to wait for Bartlett’s return and try to eke out an existence as supplies ran short and tensions ran high. Niven’s comprehensive research incorporates diary entries, news articles, and individual accounts to paint a picture not only of the immediate difficulties the crew faced—which included starvation, disease, exposure, and more—but of the ways in which various personalities rubbed against each other and led to social strife among those left standing. Though the narrative drags at points, The Ice Master winds up delivering a striking tale of suspense, heroism, and perseverance.

In the Kingdom of Ice, In the Heart of the Sea, and The Ice Master are all available to borrow at E.P. Foster Library, with some additional copies available at our other branches. Check out NoveList Plus in the Reading Suggestions section of our eLibrary if you’re looking for more non-fiction on this topic, or to browse for something entirely different. And remember, if the copy you’re after is checked out you can put in a request for it in person, over the phone, or online through the Ventura County Library catalog.

This week we observed the official start of fall. The changes may not be as dramatic as they are in other parts of the country, but even here in sunny Southern California we do experience changes in seasons.

The indications are more subtle. Our days may still be hot but they are shorter and the nights tend to be cool. Grasses dry out, plants go to seed, and we start to get ready for the traditional festivals of the season.

A few fruits, like blackberries, are just starting to ripen, and squash and pumpkins are starting to show up in some of the local fields in preparation for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

The world is in ruins, ravaged more than a thousand years ago by an event remembered as the “Sixty Minute War” and the great geological upheavals that the war unleashed. Through centuries of cataclysmic earthquakes, volcanoes, and other disasters, humanity’s dwindling nomadic populations discovered new means of survival, constructing massive “Traction Cities,” immense vehicles that carried the peoples, memories, and traditions of shattered nations. So begins the age of “Municipal Darwinism,” a continuous war over scarce resources where larger cities hunt down and consume the smaller towns which, in turn, follow closely the tracks of large cities so that they may make use of their leavings.

After a thousand years, the system of Municipal Darwinism—the backbone of modern society—seems on the verge of collapse. Prey has grown thinner for a now desperate city of London, and her Lord Mayor must take the city out of the relative safety of the old British Isles and into the Hunting Grounds, where she will compete with other, still larger cities for survival.

Deeper mysteries, conspiracies, and betrayals unfold and Tom, a young third-apprentice in London’s Guild of Historians, is thrust from his relative safety and obscurity into a war for the survival of London and for the world.

Young-adult readers of science fiction and especially fans of steampunk literature will enjoy the unique world of Mortal Engines. All four titles are available at Foster library or at any Ventura County library by request.